Thanks to the Textile Art Resources Guide, I have found out about an article written by Paul Sugden for The Australian Forum for Textile Arts: Legally Speaking, Paul Sugden on Quilts, Photographs & Galleries. In this article, he discusses a conflict that that arose when a photographer who was hired by a gallery to take photos of an exhibit subsequently published the photos of the quilter’s artwork on his own website, claiming he had copyright of the photos.

Paul Sugden is the honorary lawyer for TAFTA and he lectures in the Department of Business Law and Taxation at the Berwick Campus of Monash University Melbourne. He writes regular columns for Textile Fibre Forum magazine, “Legally Speaking,” which are posted on the website. I haven’t had time to read all the articles yet but this appears to be a valuable resource. Although it is written from an Australian perspective, much of the commentary may also be relevant to other countries as international treaties dictate a fair degree of uniformity in copyright laws.